The Mail Online reports: The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader, with western outlets unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health.

A report by the weekly Shukan Gendai in
Japan claimed on Friday that North Korea’s dictator us currently in a
‘vegetative state’ after having heart surgery earlier in the month.

The outlet cited a Chinese medic who is believed to have been sent as part of the team to treat Kim Jong Un after a delay in a simple heart procedure had left the leader severely ill.

The source cited by the news outlet
claimed that Jong Un was visiting the countryside when he clutched his
chest and fell to the ground. A doctor with him at the time is said to
have performed CPR on accompanied him to a hospital.

While
there is no official proof of the dictator’s death, the hashtag
#KimJongUndead was trending on twitter on Friday following the report.

A
delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s
International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on
Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese
body dealing with neighbouring North Korea.

The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

The Liaison Department could not be
reached by Reuters for comment late on Friday. China’s foreign ministry
did not immediately respond to a request for comment late on Friday.

Daily
NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim was
recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. It
cited one unnamed source in North Korea.

South
Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the Liaison
Department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in
grave danger after surgery. South Korean officials said they had
detected no signs of unusual activity in North Korea.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump also downplayed earlier reports that Kim was gravely ill. ‘I think the report was incorrect,’ Trump told reporters, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials.

On Friday, a South Korean source told
Reuters their intelligence was that Kim was alive and would likely make
an appearance soon. The person said he did not have any comment on Kim’s
current condition or any Chinese involvement.

An
official familiar with U.S. intelligence said that Kim was known to
have health problems but they had no reason to conclude he was seriously
ill or unable eventually to reappear in public.

A
U.S. State department spokeswoman had no comment. U.S. Secretary of
State, Mike Pompeo, when asked about Kim’s health on Fox News after
Trump spoke said, ‘I don’t have anything I can share with you tonight,
but the American people should know we’re watching the situation very
keenly.’